Institute wins green impact awards

The Institute of Archaeology Green Team recently received a silver green impact award for the department following on from the bronze green impact award and also the gold award for the conservation and environmental labs received in 2011-12.

Mark Roberts received the Ecologist Environmental Hero Award 2012-13 for his work at the Middle Pleistocene site of Boxgrove which is located at the edge of the South Downs in West Sussex.

After finishing archaeological excavations at Boxgrove Mark designed and effected the restoration of the quarry returning it to agriculture whilst preserving the archaeological land surfaces and improving the site biodiversity. With the assistance of English Heritage, students, local farmers and volunteers Mark has managed the existing 2.5 acres of woodland, increasing the biodiversity of forest floor flowering plants. Students have put up owl boxes and Mark has installed dormice breeding boxes. An additional 2 acres have been planted with over 400 mixed native trees and a new hedge planted as well as an existing hedge maintained. The fields are being handcut near hedges and a wild flower meadow maintained which now has orchids and breeding wild grey partridges. A biodiversity survey has been carried out and the invertebrate and floral diversity has resulted in an increase in the number of birds visiting the site.

Mark uses the site to teach students archaeological site management and young children from local schools learn about wildlife, archaeology and landscape. His enthusiasm for nature and archaeology and his skills as a teacher and fieldworker have ensured that this site is able to be used for agriculture and ecological habitat as well as preserving an important archaeological site.

Congratulations to them all for these well deserved awards!

Green Impact is an environmental accreditation and awards programme which allows departments and divisions of the university to assess and improve their own environmental impacts. Last year 46 universities and colleges took part in Green Impact across the UK.